Steinberger Spirit XZ-25

This Korean-made Steinberger was probably made around the standard earth year Two Thousand, AD. This headless bass has 5-strings, two volume knobs and a tone knob with passive electronics. The pickups are passive EMG Select bass pickups in the H/H configuration. The body is made of Swamp Ash.. the neck is maple and the fretboard is rosewood. It features the patented Steinberger double-ball tuning system with direct pull 40:1 fine tuners. This bass is black. It is only 38.7 inches long. This Steinberger came with a gig bag.

This Steinberger bass is perfect for most types of rock music, blues and even jazz. I play it through a Line 6 Bass POD and a Fender KX-100 Keyboard amp. When it comes to tone... this bass totally destroys a MIM Fender Jazz/Precision or Squire Jazz or Squire P bass... and these cost about the same. The pickups are suitable for a wide variety of rock tones. With the Bass POD and this Steinberger... my tonal varieties are practically endless. I can get the Geddy Lee bass sound from Rush's Moving Pictures album when I dime the bridge pickup and run the neck pickup around 7. This bass sounds great picked, fingered or slapped. I've heard better passive pickups on basses which cost 4 times as much... but for the money... the EMG Selects do a fantastic job. I've only used this bass in the studio... and it's a great tool for my demos. It really blends in well with my guitars, drums, vocals and keys. My recorded bass tracks with this Steinberger are very easy to mix.

The bass was set up quite well at the factory. The action was exactly the way I like it: As low as possible to the fretboard without excessive buzzing. The pickups were low... so I raised them and this incresed the overall output of the bass. Before I raised the pickups... it sounded weak... but now it sounds just as good or even better than some of the better basses I've owned in the past like Carvin and Ibanez. The scale on this bass (38.7 inches) is perfect for a guitarist. I hate long neck basses where the frets seem like miles apart especially on the lower frets. This bass is VERY guitarist friendly.

This bass is solid and quite heavy for a bass of it's size. If I gigged with this bass... it would definitely withstand live playing. The hardware is top-notch for a Korean-made bass. The tone/volume knobs are chrome (not plastic). This bass is very stout and heavier than a Gibson Les Paul.

Ordering from Musicyo online was easy... and they provided an outstanding product for the money I paid.

I played bass in rock cover bands for approximately 8 years. I've played Spector, Carvin and Ibanez. For the money... this bass is light years ahead of anything Fender, Ibanez, etc... has in this price range. Korean-made guitars/basses have came a long way over the past 10 years... and the overall quality of tone, playability and cosmetics of these guitars are starting to rival American-made guitars/basses which cost hundreds more.

I only use this bass for recording since I am primarily a guitarist and project home studio enthusiast. I would recommend this bass to any guitarist... who doesn't have a shitload of money to spend on bass gear. I would also recommend this bass to any beginner or intermediate BASSIST. The only thing I don't like about this bass is the cheesy logo on the body. If I ever played out live with this bass... I would cover the logo with some electrical tape. I like this bass so much... when funds allow... I'm going to buy the fretless version.

1999 Model Steinberger XZ-25 5 string bass. Swamp Ash body with
maple bolt-on neck. 24 frets, heavy duty Steinberger design bridge.
Zero fret technology at the end of the neck. Translucent Fireburst
finish is rather stunning. Gloss finish on body with satin finish
on neck. Passive electronics with two EMG Select PUs. 34" scale
neck with thin profile. Neck heel is curved towards body for easy
reach of upper frets during solos. Bass was shipped from MusicYo
in the rather flimsy gigbag with two allen keys supplied for tuning.

I play mostly classic rock and this bass does work well for that.
I do notice however a slightly lower output than any of my other
basses. This just required turning up the volume control on my
Carvin RC-210 600W combo a bit. Also noticed both PU volume controls
work mostly at the low end of there span (after about 10 or 11 oclock
there really is no control). Also noticed without both PU controls
open you can get a rather thin sound. However that said, once I have
it adjusted the way I like it (bridge volume at just cracked open
and neck volume at 10 oclock) is has a solid rock sound that is good
for classic to alternative. With just the rear (bridge) PU open I can
get a nice staccato Jaco sound (a la Jazz Bass). I think the EMG select
PUs are getting a bad rap. They really have a good rock sound
but I would not use them for Jazz or country. This bass does have LONG
sustain to the point that you have to dampen the string at the end of
a song or your note will be ringing on forever.

Bass was shipped with a medium high set-up. Using the supplied
allen keys it was a peice of cake to lower the string height to my
liking. Neck relief was perfect, no need to adjust the truss rod. The
Steiberger design bridge does take some getting use to when adjusting
string height. First unscrew a side allen screw witch holds all the
saddles together, then after adjusting each saddle you must push down
on them or they will not lower. Then tighten the side allen screw when
done. Adjusted the PUs a bit closer (for more output). Probably one
of the most impressive things is the high gloss Fireburst finish that
has the guitarists in my band green with envy. Not a flaw to be found
and really gives the bass an expensive look and feel. Neck pocket is
tight with for bolt on screws that are countersunk.

Have used the bass at home on the couch for casual playing (its so
compact at 38"). Also have rotated it into a rehersal bass because
my Fender Active Jazz V weighs abouts 10 lbs and the XV-25 is much
lighter and more compact. I bring it to gigs as a back up 5-string.
Strap buttons are solid cause of the Ash wood body. Have never had
to adjust the truss rod. Bass is ALWAYS in tune. I could use it as a
standard for checking the tuner:)

MusicYo has been good on the customer service side though you never
talk to a human being. everything is automatic and e-mail.

I have been playing on and off for about 25 years. My other basses
are Fender Active Jazz V, Squire P-Bass. If it were stolen I would
probably not by another however I will never sell it cause its so
different and compact. I wish it had a nice hard shell case. I believe
a DeArmond Pilot Bass case is about the same size at $79. The free
gig bag is very flimsy but works. The PUs could be upgraded to the
EMG HZ for better sound but at $279 the EMG selects work OK.